Arrangement Is The Best Option
by Natarii-loves-Chocolate-milk
Summary: Ryoma Echizen must take a Husband in thirty days if she is to take the throne of Kantou. Bunta Marui would not have been her first choice, but he‘s as good as any. He might even shatter that icy shell. MaruixFemRyoma. Some side pairings; mentions of Yaoi.
1. Chapter I: Meddling

**ARRANGEMENT IS THE BEST OPTION  
**

**CHAPTER I  
~ MEDDLING ~**

* * *

"Say what?" Ryoma exclaimed, dropping her jaw in the shock of her grandmother's statement.  
"Exactly what I just said." the old woman grumbled in an equally displeased manner.

"An an arranged marriage? You are telling me that some stupid 300-year-old law means I have to be married before I can take the throne? That's a sick joke, right?!"

Ryoma felt her world beginning to mimic an action similar to that of the earthquakes that frequented the country. Ryoma had always been a somewhat free spirit, focusing her attentions on her tennis skills; the love of the sport something she had shared with her perverted father (and her twin brother before he began to take a more serious role in the running the country of Kantou).

She had never overly concerned herself with the political aspects of her future occupation, instead choosing to focus more on the job of taking care of her country from the sidelines. Even then, she had been somewhat apathetic with the job (though no less as responsible).  
Now all of a sudden she was set to be the future empress.

Used to her freedom to choose her own path, the sudden upgrade in status had been none too acceptable. It had taken her a few months to get properly used to the idea of actually running the country instead of looking out on the sidelines, but she had done so.

She had even been looking forward to it recently, something that had taken a while for her to adjust to. Her parents were both dead - her mother had died giving birth to her younger sister, and her father had been killed in the war with Kyushu.

The mere thought of her younger sister taking the throne was laugh able; she did not have the backbone required to stand up to the political world. Her brother had sustained severe injuries during the same war, and he was in no shape to be taking the throne as originally planned.

In the end, it was her love for her family that prompted her to accept the idea and she had no intentions of backing down from the decision. Once she made a decision, she stuck to it with as mush stubbornness as her late father.

But this…!

"You can't be serious Obaa-sama!" she protested.

Her grandmother sighed. Sumire Echizen, formerly Ryuzaki, was the current ruling empress - and the late mother of Echizen Nanjiro. After the death of her son and in the absence of her own late husband, she had taken on the role of empress in a temporary capacity until a new heir came to take the throne; formerly Ryoga, and now Ryoma.

"I'm sorry Ryoma; I never mentioned it before since I didn't think the advisors would enforce it, I think they would have ignored it too but that damnable Banji had to meddle!"

Ryoma frowned at the mention of the name. Banji, or Miyaka Banda, was the Saitama representative on the council. His family were close enough to the main royal family to be the next in line for succession should an heir be unavailable. While pleasant enough, he was a determined old man who had never been fond of a female ruler.

"And I'll bet he was ever so polite about it too…" Ryoma grumbled.

She had never understood her father and brother's dislike for the man, not until she took on the position of heir. He was a nice man - that much she could admit - but he was an absolute demon in the conference rooms, something always hidden behind a smile of course.

"I believe his precise words were _'While Ryoma-Oujo-Sama is undoubtedly mature for her age, I think her responsibility with the succession issue is proof that she is an unwise candidate, it is no secret that she has no interest in taking the throne.' _he thinks if you marry, you'll push the responsibility onto your husband" her grandmother explained.

"That's assuming I would even get married in the first place!" Ryoma protested.  
"Exactly."

Ryoma froze.

"He's counting on your independent streak rebuffing the idea so he can push his grandson into the line of succession"

Ryoma slammed her fist into one of the pillars that lined the throne room, venting her anger on her the marble. Words could not describe the rage she felt towards Banji at that moment. As nice as he was, he had enforced his old-fashioned ways onto his family; Sengoku would lead Kantou back into the dark ages if he took the throne.

Ryoma pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to clear her thoughts. It could not be as simple as simply finding a husband - Banji was far too tricky for that. He had to have some sort of ace up his sleeve if he was intending for her second cousin to take the throne in her stead.

"I'm guessing I have a limited amount of time to find a husband correct?" she asked in a resigned tone of voice.  
"Mizuki-Shusho insisted on thirty days - while he was supportive of my insistence on single-ruling, he understood Banji's_ 'concerns' _given your age" her grandmother replied apologetically.

Ryoma growled curses on the Prime-Ministers good health.  
"Stupid… Chauvinistic… Hope he _rots_… Send a twist swerve up his tight-ass... "

"Oh boy, this is going to be an interesting month," Sumire noted.

* * *

"Onee-Sama! Onee-Sama!" Ryoma opened the door to her private quarters, and was engulfed by a flurry of brunette pigtails before being toppled to the floor.

Sakuno Echizen, at sixteen years old, was the youngest for the three siblings and took after their mother in her appearance, inheriting her hair and eyes. Her elder siblings had taken their fathers dark hair and sharp eyes, though their love of tennis seemed to be a family trait - Ryoma and Ryoga simply pursued it more than she did.

"Obaa-sama just told me what that Banji did! Isn't there anything you can do to avoid it? Onii-sama will be furious! Have you told him yet? Did Obaa-sama try to reason with th-"  
"Sakuno! Calm down, and stop squashing me…" Ryoma gasped out through her sister's suffocating embrace.

She had been prepared for Sakuno's reaction, but not so prepared as to avoid suffocation.  
Never mind Ryoga's reaction.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I did not mean to, I swear! I was just so worried and-"

Ryoma took her sister by her shoulder and plopped her down on her sofa, taking a suite next to the brunette girl. Sakuno hung her head sheepishly as her sister ruffled her hair.

"I appreciate the concern Sakuno, but you really don't need to worry so much." she berated with a friendly smirk.

Her sister hissed then - something nearly unheard of from the kind and timid girl.  
"It's not fair, why is he doing this? Why do you have to go through with this? You've already taken up the position as heir when you clearly don't want to!" she growled.

"It's not enough that you have to take over from Obaa-sama? You have already done more than enough, but now this too? No! It is not fair! Otou-sama would never have allowed it!" she protested, seemingly to herself, though her words suggested otherwise.

"If Oyaji were here, I wouldn't be taking over from Obaa-sama. Besides, you know we would be married off if we did not get our own husbands before we hit twenty-five anyway. This is just a bit sooner than anticipated…" Ryoma countered.

Sakuno could find no comeback for her sisters words, but the feelings of rage did not leave her usually sweet tempered face.  
"It's still not right…," she protested weakly.

Ryoma sighed. Sakuno would not let this go unless she did something to appease her worries. She was a champion worrier, and this would be the worry to end all worries for the brunette. Ryoma was suppressed she hadn't burst a blood vessel already.

"Look, why don't you help me pick the future Mr. Echizen out? It's not like I don't have a choice, just a time limit…"

Sakuno gave her a puzzled glance.

"Won't you be taking his name?" she asked.  
"He'll be marrying into our family, so he'll be taking my name, _thank god…"_

'_At least I won't have to change that…' _she thought to herself, though it was small comfort.

Sakuno furrowed her eyebrows for a moment before giving her sister the kind smile that she was characterised with. Relieved to have her sisters support, Ryoma pulled her into a hug. Though whether it was for Sakuno's benefit or her own, she was not quite sure.

* * *

Her interaction with her brother was much less restrained.

It was late when he burst into the room with a quiet fury. Sakuno had been removed by her distraught maid some hours ago - apparently, she had abandoned a meeting about hosting some sort of charity event.

Ryoma was surprised to see her brother so quickly - his injuries during the war had damaged his one of his lungs, and he was still under the strict watch of the family doctors. Having undergone a major operation only two weeks ago, she was convinced she would have had to approach him by herself.

Abandoning the book she had attempted to distract herself with, she was instantly on her feet.

"Aniki! You shouldn't be up! The doctors told you nothing strenuous for six weeks!" she scolded, taking his arm and carefully directing towards the sofa Sakuno had previously been occupying.

"Can you stop looking after everyone but yourself for five damn minuets?" he asked somewhat irritably.

In spite of his ungenial temperament, however, he gratefully took the glass of water she had forced into his hand.  
"Are you going to ignore the doctors?" she replied, seating herself next to him.

He frowned at her over the rim of the glass.  
"This isn't the time to be worrying about me Ryoma, worry about yourself for once!" he yelled, vocalisation quickly followed up by a racking fit.

Ryoma sighed in exasperation.  
"I'll worry about myself when you stop hacking your own lungs up."

"Stop dodging this Ryoma! You can't possibly be thinking of going through with that old git's shenanigans!" he replied forcefully, but taking care to keep his voice low - thus avoiding coughing.

"It's not like I have a choice Ryoga! Do you want that pervert Sengoku to take the throne instead? You know what it'll mean for Kanto if that happens!"  
"You don't even want the throne! Just let him take it!" her brother protested.

"No! This was going to happen anyway and you know it!" she used the same argument she had used against Sakuno, knowing there was nothing he could have come up with to argue against it.

"No! That may have been the case when Oyaji was alive, but not now. You know he would be against this! You're my twin, but you're as much my baby-sister as Sakuno, and I'm not letting you throw yourself into a marriage you don't want!"

Ryoma was taken aback for a few moments before regaining her composure.

"Be that as it may, I have as much choice with this as you did with stepping down! I am not going to run away from this and let our family loose face! I am not going to be weak!" she replied harshly.

It was a weak argument and she knew it, but she also knew it would be the one that won the argument for her (for now at any rate). They were twins in more than just genetics; Ryoga had the same prideful streak she did, and she was certain he would let the matter drop because of that.

There was a tense, crisp silence for an age before Ryoga let out a frustrated howl of resignation.  
"Fine! You win for now! But if you think I'm letting you handle this all by yourself you have another thing coming!"

Ryoma raised an eyebrow.

"Obaa-sama is far too soft with you for your own good, and with dad gone someone has to make sure you don't take on more than you can handle. I may be in rehab, but I'm not useless, and I'm still your brother!" he said, rising from the sofa and heading back towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

This time it was Ryoga's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"The doctors told you not to move around if you could avoid it - you've done enough moving for one day. You are not walking back to your own room until tomorrow. Not after that fit…" she berated, moving over to him and pulling him away from the door.

"I don't think walking back to my room is going to kill me," he grumbled.

"No, but I don't think it'll be of any help either; you room is on the other side of the palace, and I'm not having you worsen your injury when it's beginning to heal! You can take my bed - I can sleep on the sofa" she informed him, directing him to her bedroom.

Before he had a chance to protest she had grabbed her extra fleecy blanket and nightclothes, and closed the door to the room behind her without a word.

* * *

The three Echizen siblings were seated on the sofa in their grandmother's study. The room was well darkened so that a projector could be brought in, one currently displaying a slideshow of prospective candidates.

It was almost like going to the cinema - Sakuno had even gone so far as to get salted popcorn for them (a rarity - Sakuno usually preferred the sweet kind). Accompanying them was their grandmother, her assistant Sadaharu Inui, and their personal security staff.

"Jin Akutsu. He comes from a fairly high class family in Ibaraki, twenty-five, hobbies include hunting," Inui read of from his present clipboard.

"He looks kind of…" Sakuno wrinkled her nose, stuffing her mouth with popcorn.  
"I know him; he smokes too much and has gambling problems. Vetoed." Ryoga stated, twisting his thumb downwards.

Another button on the projector was pressed, and the next image flashed onto the screen.  
"Seiichi Yukimura, Son of Karuki Yukimura,the Kanagawa Represenative. Age twenty three, plays tennis. He also spent some time in the Air Defence force against Nagoya," Inui informed them.

"He doesn't seem so bad…He's kind of cute too" Sakuno noted taking in his appearance wit some appreciation.

Ryoma nodded in agreement, but something else told her he was another no go.

"Uh, Ojou-sama, I must apologize but Lord Yukimura is already engaged" one of the guards - Kunimitsu Tezuka, informed the two girls.  
"No way! Who to?!" Ryoga asked in apparent surprise.

Ryoma too raise her eyebrows in interest. Though not close with the Yukimuras personally, they were well known enough to be a topic of interest.  
The head of palace security coughed uncomfortably before replying in a low voice:

"Genichiro Sanada."

Sakuno's jaw dropped and Ryoga spluttered.  
Ryoma gained an expression reminiscent of one their father used to wear around their mother and a few of the maids. Ryoga caught this and snickered; He had always assumed he was the only one who had inherited their father's perverted nature, but apparently, Ryoma was just as bad.

"Uh… Moving on then… "

Inui flicked through several more images, each met with rejection due to their much-too-older age, before finally settling on a man more around Ryoma's age.

The familiar image of a light-brown haired young man with icy blue eyes filled the screen.

"Keigo Atobe"  
"Yes! Yes! I completely accept!" Ryoma stated quickly and enthusiastically, Sakuno nodding with equal enthusiasm.

Their brother gave them a disgusted look.  
"I thought you called him monkey king?" he asked his twin.  
Ryoma ignored him.

"Uh, Sumire-Sama, Atobe is not an eligible candidate since he is in line for his own crown. Why is he in these pictures?" Ryoma's bodyguard - a trainee/intern of Tezuka's named Takeshi Momoshiro - asked his charge's grandmother.

"I figured the girls would enjoy looking at the picture" the old woman replied bluntly.

Ryoga made another disgusted expression as the two girls drooled over the photograph. The had met the Prince several times, and Ryoma and Sakuno had somehow ended up deigning the title _'Monkey King'_ on him, yet now they were staring forlornly at the man's picture.

"You two are a pair of bloody hypocrites…"

* * *

They passed through several more candidates including - Shinji Ibu (_'Too boring'_), Wakashi Hiyoshi (_'Family history of mental issues'_), Shusuke Fuji (Ryoga had no _valid_ objections, but his sincerity had left no other option), Kentaro Aoi (_'Too Young'_), and Kirihara Akaya ('_Been to jail too many times'_) - before the image of a redheaded twenty-three year old was projected onto the screen.

Ryoma desperately hoped that there was something good about the guy - she didn't think there were any other candidates left that were not twice her age.

"Lt. Bunta Marui, Twenty-three years old, cousin of Seiichi Yukimura, spent two years on the frontline during the war with Kyushu, particularly in Nagoya, served on the 16SS submarines in the Maritime Defence force. He plays tennis, and is particularly partial to cakes," Inui informed them.

"He seems… decent" Sakuno noted.

Ryoga was still frowning, but could not seem to find a fault by himself.  
"Tezuka, do you know anything else about him?" he asked.

Tezuka seemed to ponder his question for a few moments before shaking his head in reply.  
"Nothing unsavoury; he has a habit of popping up at hotel buffets uninvited, but he always remembers to pay afterwards."

Ryoga grumbled, deepening in pitch as Sakuno gave the man's picture a closer, more scrutinising look.

"You said he plays tennis? Is he any good?" Ryoma asked.

Inui nodded. Ryoga adopted a horrified expression; to be asking about his skills in their favourite sport meant Ryoma was giving the man some serious consideration.

"He was a national level-player in middle school, but dropped it upon entering high school. My sources tell me he still plays regularly," Inui informed her. Ryoma pondered this and turned back to the projection, snaffling a mouthful of popcorn.

"What's his family like? And schooling?" Ryoga asked, likely hoping to find some sort of reason he could create another rejection.  
"Grandparents, Parents, two younger brothers, family dog-"

"Does he like cats?" Ryoma and Sakuno both interrupted with deadly seriousness.

Ryoga hoped not; if the guy would not be compatible with Karupin, the girls would instantly reject any chances he had - not that he was aware of his chances, but that was not the point.

"He has no objections as far as I'm aware." Inui informed them.

The two girls breathed a sigh of relief, and Ryoga mumbled something that sounded like a curse under his breath.

"He graduated from Tokyo school of Music, and has a degree in Japanese literature from Osaka University"

Ryoma considered this; it was a complete contrast to her own qualifications. She had only managed to scrape a low pass in her high school Japanese classes, having spent her elementary school years in one of western countries (though she did enjoy western classics). She was no musician ether, much preferring chemistry and other sciences offer anything artsy.

Not that she held no interest in music or Japanese literature - she simply did not overly concern herself with those specific subjects. Looking at the image projected onto the wall she considered all she had heard from Inui and Tezuka. With respect to her personality, he seemed to be her complete opposite, (especially if the buffet hijacking was anything to go by), and was a definite visual contrast.

His hair was messy bright apple red, not looking the slightest lie a dye-job. His eyes were a dull greyish blue-purple, with a silvery note to them, and he was blowing a green bubble of gum. Ryoma could not remember the last time she had chewed on bubblegum.

It had always seemed immature somehow; she had thought so even as a child. Marui Bunta seemed immature to Ryoma, a girl whose middle name was maturity. They were nothing alike, but she could not help but be drawn to this stranger from the Kanagawa state.

Ryoma supposed that was exactly why.

* * *

"You wanted to speak to me Okaa-san?" Bunta asked as he entered his parent's room, having gained permission to enter upon knocking.

A blonde haired woman grinned at him and Bunta felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise.  
That grin spelt 'Serious Conversation' with a capital S. Oddly, the same smile was exactly the opposite when wore by his lethargic brother.

"Bunta! Take a seat honey, your Father will be with us in a moment!"

Screw capital S, the whole conversation was spelled with capitals, bold font, and under-scoring. For one of the families in the higher echelons of society, the Marui family was comparatively relaxed. If both his parents requested a conversation at a point that was not some sort of significant event, it meant politics was at work.

Had his father lost his court position? He didn't beleive there were any problems with his mothers company, or none that he was aware of (his mothers family were well-know in the field of oil production, besides politics). What in god's name could they possibly have to discuss with him that would require both of them to be present?

Scuffling outside the door and a rebukal from the maids told him that one of the housekeepers had chased his two younger siblings away from the door. Did they somehow sense the gravity of the situation?

…Unlikely. His brothers were even more idiotic in nature than he was (they took after their mother in that aspect - he seemed to have gained at least some of his father's level-headed qualities). In any case, given the gravity of the situation he was still unaware of, it would probably be best to have this conversation without the distractions his younger siblings would provide.

* * *

Perhaps ten minuets after the two younger Marui's had been chased away his father's presence encroached his mothers meaningless chatter.

"Ah Bunta, you're already here, that's good."  
"Welcome home Otou-san" he greeted his red-haired father.

His mother kissed the man on the cheek, taking his breifcase from him to be put aside.

"Okaa-san said you wished to talk to me," he ventured once his father had settled into one of the armchairs near the fireplace.  
"Yes. Karuki gave me the news yesterday." he replied vaguely, sipping at the tea brought by one of the maids.

Karuki? Seiichi's father? What did the head of the district want with them? Moreover, what did it have to do with him? His father did nothing to explain for several moments, focusing on enjoying what he mumbled to be _'the first decent drink all day'_.

"Are you aware of the succession issues at the moment?" his mother asked, picking up the discussion for his father.  
"Somewhat. Ryoga-Ouji-Sama is next in line isn't he?"

To be very honest, he kept his nose out of politics if he could avoid it. All he knew of the succession was that Nanjiro Echizen had died on the front lines five years ago. His mother was acting as regent until his son took up the title.

"No, Ryoma-Oujo-Sama has taken the position in his stead." his mother corrected.  
"What?! Why?! And when?!"

"Ryoga-Ouji-Sama was also sent to the battle in Okinawa, not long after you returned. He received heavy injuries to his lung, and to his legs,"His father informed him, his genial side pushed away for the serious conversation he was beginning to orchestrate.

Marui was in shock from the news; he wondered if he should maybe take more interest in politics - he was to inherit his father's position one day after all. How on earth could he have missed earth-shattering news like that?

"Even with serious rehabilitation, the doctors have declared him unfit in health for the position. As the eldest of the Echizen daughters, Ryoma was immediately raised to the position," his father continued.

"Alright, I get that. But why is that a problem?" he asked, only having gained a small percentage of the percentage of understanding required.

"Miyaka Banda protests the idea of a female ruler. Should Ryoma decline the throne, his grandson will inherit the position - though between ourselves, I doubt that skirt chaser would be of any benefit."

Marui nodded, informing his father that he was keeping up with the conversation. He paid no heed to his fathers less formal honorific towards Banda. The Marui family had always been supportive of the current royal family, and Banda was not held in the same light.

"A couple of days ago, Banda brought the matter up in the parliamentary meeting. According to the law, Ryoma-Oujo-Sama cannot take the throne unless she is married first."

Bunta felt like a realization poking at his mind, but he ignored it. He was never one to make assumptions without all the facts, and his mother was now talking instead. He had learned never to ignore his Mother when she spoke; bad things happened to those that did.

"Given the state of affairs with Kyushu, the parliament is anxious that a ruler takes the throne quickly. Sumire-Kogo-Heika rightly protested the rule, but given Ryoma-Ojou-Sama's age, Mizuki-Shusho made a motion in Banda-San's favour," his mother continued.

Bunta felt that realization poking at him again.

"Mizuki-Shusho motioned for Kiyosumi Sengoku, Banda's grandson, to take the throne unless Ryoma-Oujo-Sama is married within the month." his father finalized.

"You don't mean…?! No way…"Bunta voiced, shocked by the growing realisation  
"The Echizen family has, after some consideration, requested and Ommiad take place between you and Ryoma-Oujo-Sama!" his mother stated the realization excitedly.

His father snorted with laughter at their expressions of shock and glee.

* * *

After regaining his composure, Bunta managed to voice a sensible protest:

"B-But father! Surely there are other men that are more suitable?" he inquired.

It was not an outright denial, as such; he simply knew he would not have been a first choice candidate.  
"Karuki informs me the Crown Princess was quite taken With Keiko Atobe, but considering his own crown, he was instantly vetoed." he chuckled.

"Besides that, Ryoga-Oji-Sama is not at all happy with the scenario. You were the first candidate he couldn't find a decent fault with - his protectiveness is understandable though."

Marui could do nothing but nod in reply. He was still somewhat shocked by the news; while his family was easily of a high class, it was not quite on royal status. He couldn't say he knew a great deal about arranged marriages, but wasn't status really important? Then again, it was not as if the Echizens could go down in status - he would probably be giving up his last name (that was a blow to his pride) if he went trough with the process.

"I know this is a shock Bunta, but I really hope you'll give this some serious thought!" his mother pleaded.

"Benefits this will give our family aside, I know you aren't going to show any interest in girls on your own!"

His mother had a point; he had participated in a few short relationships, but nothing that could have developed into anything more permanent. He had actually wondered when his parents would start meddling themselves.

"I too think you should consider this - you turn twenty four this year Bunta, many of those your age are married already or at the very least engaged. Having talked with Karuki, I believe she would be a good match for you, even without meeting her."

Marui gave him a look of surprise - he understood the encouragement from his mother, but fro his father? That was a surprise.

"She is very much you're opposite; mature and scientific to your bubbly artistic nature; I would have had reservations if not for my marriage to your mother. I won't force you into a decision, but I will ask you to at least give it serious consideration"

"You had an arranged marriage?" he asked in surprise.

He would never have guessed that - his parents were besotted. He was under the impression that arranged marriages resulted in fondness at best.  
Jackal's relationship with his fiancée was mildly tolerant at best.

"Everyone is always so surprised when we say that!" his mother pouted. His father patted her hand comfortingly.

"I wasn't sure if you'd seen a proper picture of her other than through the press ones, so I requested Karuki acquire this."

His father handed him a photograph half the size of an A4 sheet. The most striking of her features were her eyes. They were a sharp inquisitive golden colour - he felt somewhat inadequate thinking of his own gloomy eye colour. She obviously took her looks from her late father.

The photo seemed to be a family one; he could make out her twin brother standing behind her tugging on the braids of their younger sibling. There was something of an exasperated smile on her face.

He instantly understood what his father meant by mature (scientific was easily explainable). She was obviously the peacekeeper of what appeared to be a rather energetic family. He equated it to his own position as caretaker of his incredibly energetic younger brothers.

He knew he would have to make a decision now - the haste required would demand at least some sort of indication as to whether it would be a futile meeting. After going over the different options, he couldn't really see any specific problems with the match itself.

"I don't object to it, but I can't really guarantee anything. It that all right? I can at least meet her, if nothing el-"

He was cut off by his mothers suffocation.  
Really, it was blatantly obviously who his brothers inherited the majority of their personality from.

"Oh you won't regret this Bunta! I can already tell this is going to go well!" she squealed, tightening her choking hold on him.  
"I said I'd meet her Okaa-San!" he protested weakly, noting his statements falling on deaf ears.

His fathers' chuckling was of no help to him.

* * *

"What happened? What happened? Dad was in there too right?! What happened? Is Otou-San getting sacked?!" his youngest sibling asked energetically.  
"Kintaro, will you calm down?!" he asked exasperatedly.

Compared to his brothers, energetic was no sort of word that Bunta could be described with. Kintaro never seemed to stop moving, and once Jirou awoke from his perpetual slumber, he was just as bad.

Thankfully he did have some degree of maturity (he was nineteen - he could hardly act like their sixteen year old brother all the time), and managed to placate Kintaro somewhat.

"So what did they say? Is it Otou-San's work?" he asked.  
"Uh… sort of…"

It was the truth. His father would definitely be getting something out of this - they would probably be moving to Tokyo if this went well.

"Sort of? What that supposed to mean? It is or it is not! Aww geez, just tell s what they said!" his fellow redhead complained.  
"Otou-San and Okaa-San have… set up an Omiai for me…"

Kintaro's jaw dropped. Thankfully, Jirou managed to restrain his surprise somewhat.

"Seriously? With who?! Do I know them?!" Kintaro bubbled.  
"I think everyone knows her… it's with Ryoma Echizen" he braced himself.

Seiglence reigned supreme for for a long moment before all hell broke loose.

* * *

**_Princess Diaries II was on at Christmas, I was reading BuntaRyo at the time, and this is what my warped mind came up with. The Mikado may have had a part in it too (Mikado is the British name of Pocky, though we only get chocolate kind)._**

**_I was originally going to make the Echizen rulers of Japan itself, but I needed a war and I don't know who Japan is at war with or if they are even at war (and I am so not going town the world war two road), so I looked up where that creepy foreign team came form and apparently it was Nagoya. That worked out 'cause Higa came from Okinawa, and according to my map they are both in Kyushu._**

**_ So to avoid the WWII scenario, I made it that all the different regions were countries by themselves, ad the different prefectures were like states, or a Duchy. Since Tokyo is where prince of tennis takes place it is the capital, and I made the Echizens the imperial family of Kanto - the region tokyo lives in. Kanagawa (where Rikkai junior high comes from) is a Duchy under the rule of Yukimura's family._**

**_I realise Atobe is also from a Kanto school, and it breaks my heart to move him 'cause he's one of my favourite characters, but I need him to have his own throne for later plot developments so I sent him somewhere else (I haven't actually decided where that will be yet, but I'm on it!)_**

**_I don't normally use honorifics, and I keep names westernised, but I really wanted to keep with the traditional thing since it's a 'high-society' type fic, and omiais are kinda tradional things too (though not so much these days according to Wikipedia). Thus, westernised names and honorifics. I didn't know if I needed to explain that or not, so I did it anyway._**

**_Any Japanese readers feel free to correct my use of the language, because the furthest I've gone is Malta, and online translation dictionaries aren't ideal. Wikipedia is good, but also has a certain degree of unreliability..._**

**_For non-Japanese readers, the ever so handy translation notes!_**

**_http : / / en . wikipedia . org / wiki / Japanese _ honorifics Royal _ and _ official _ titles_**

**_That should explain them, just remove the spaces. I cant be bothered writing them all down, but 'Oujo-Sama' is 'princess' and 'Ouji-Sama' is 'prince' (though if you read the 'The Prince of Tennis' and still don't know that then…). I though I'd write those down since they aren't on Wikipedia._**

**_Urgh, I hate long AN's. I apologize but it was probably necessary.  
If you think I own Prince Of Tennis, you have problems with your thinking process. _**

**_Anyway, l_**_**emme know your thoughts.**_


	2. Chapter II: Meeting

**ARRANGEMENT IS THE BEST OPTION**

**CHAPTER II  
~ MEETING ~**

* * *

"Morning Kawamura-San" Ryoma greeted the head chef sleepily.

The kitchen was quiet this time of morning, only the head chef and his son present at such an early hours. Her father had always tried to force holidays and mornings off on them, but they were very stubborn. Ryoma found herself having much the same problem.

This morning, however, she was especially grateful for the fresh coffee Takashi placed in front of her as she took her usual spot at the preparation table.

"Thank you Takashi-San" she thanked him, taking a long sip of her beloved diesel.  
"It's perfectly fine Ryoma-Sam-"

"What did we talk about Takashi-San?" she asked, abandoning the coffee for the bowl of rice that had been placed on the table with the coffee.  
"R-Ryoma-San" he corrected himself sheepishly.

"It's perfectly fine Ryoma-san; you heave a long day today; you're meeting Marui-San for the first time - you need your energy!" his father smiled with far too much energy for such an un-godly hour of the morning.

Catching sight of an unattended pan, he turned his attention to his son explosively.  
"Takashi! You've gotta watch the Miso! The Miso!" he yelled.

He persisted in waving his spatula with far too much enthusiasm to be safe. Takashi instantly turned into a panicked hen, dropping one of the preparation bowls that was supposed to be going in the washing up.

Ryoma snickered as the chef-in-training bumbled around the kitchen amongst his father's rebukes. They had a loud relationship; it was easy to see where the eccentric side of Takeshi's personality came from. It reminded her of the banter she used to have with her own father, and it was one of the reasons she made a point of dragging herself down to kitchens once a week.

"You don't seem nervous," Takashi noted, taking his usual spot next to her.

The Miso soup had finally been saved from he stove, and no more work would be needed until the other members of the household finally roused themselves from slumber. The only Echizen to come anywhere near passing the morning coherency test was Sakuno - and even that was pushing it.

"It's too early for me to be nervous; it hasn't had time to sink in yet" she replied around a mouth full of rice - manners be damned this early in the morning.

Ryoma thanked god for her perfect poker face. Takashi would make a fuss if he saw her looking as worried, terrified, and as anxious as she truly felt. What if her brother killed him on sight? What if he was a jerk? What if she had one of her dinosaur-rare-but-disastrous clumsy moments?

'_What if this whole thing is a pointless endeavour?'_ was a particularly large concern of hers. It was an entirely feasible outcome after all; This Marui guy may flat-out reject the idea the moment he laid eyes on her.

So many things could go wrong… Her poker face must not have been working properly as Takeshi's father, un-noticed by his son, slipped a few drops of brandy into her coffee with a wink.

"Does wonders for the nerves" he mouthed, grinning.

Ryoma decided she would force the man into a two-week holiday as she gratefully guzzled the spiked black liquid.

* * *

"…wait, I thought he was joking! Bunta seriously has an Omiai?!" Kintaro gawped.

He watched on in horror as one of the maids packed his suitcase. He was still half-dressed in his pyjamas, and was completely taken aback by the flurry of activity that was suddenly taking place in his room.

"Kintaro! Get dressed! The cars will be leaving within the hour!" his father informed him, stopping in front of the stunned boy's open door.  
"Otou-San! Is this serious?!" he asked loudly. His father simply nodded in reply before walking on down the hallway.  
"Honestly, Kin, why are you the one freaking out?" Jirou asked adding his own suitcase to the growing pile outside his younger brother's room.

"Nii-San should be the one loosing it, not you" he joked.

His brother, who had finally pulled his head through a t-shirt, gave a look that suggested he was missing a few brain cells (something very possible if his grades in Literature and Chinese were anything to go by).

"B-But Ryoma-Oujo-Sama?! This is the biggest thing to happen to us since that time Bunta-Nii caught Yukimura-sempai and Sanada-Sempai making out in the kitchen at dad's 45th!" he tried to explain, somewhat but not completely making his point.

"Look, Nii-San isn't kicking up a fuss, so you shouldn't either. Besides, he's just meeting her; it not actually been decided yet" Jirou placated, running a hand through his carroty hair.

Since when did he turn into the responsible one? This should be Bunta's job since he was the one causing all the havoc for once! Jirou made a mental note to try (key word: _try_) to tone down his own antics from now on. How did his brother manage to curb his own rambunctious attitude enough to keep not only Kintaro, but also himself from making irrevocable blunders on a daily basis?

"Nii-San, how can you be so calm?! Bunta-Nii is meeting the girl who may one day be leading our country to see if they are compatible enough for marriage! There is nothing normal about this!"

"Why do you hate this so much anyway?" Jirou sighed, pulling one of the heavier cases to the doorway.  
"I don't hate it! It's just so freaking shoujo-manga it's creepy!" the boy wailed.

Jirou stared at his brother, looking rather aghast.

"You read Shoujo manga?"  
"That's not the point!"  
"Will you two stop yelling and get out here already?!" Bunta yelled from a distant location.

Recognising the danger tone in his voice, Jirou scurried away leaving his younger sibling to tug frantically at his trainers.

* * *

Bunta watched the countryside scenery passing by the car window absently. His mind was so distracted he barley noticed the vehicle pull up to refill the petrol tank, and his youngest sibling's hurried exit from the car.

He had never given much though to girls, much preferring tennis, hotel buffets, and his studies to looking for a significant other. The few he had met had been through the aforementioned interests, and had never lasted longer than a month at best.

The fact he was actually going to meet a girl who may or may not become his wife had not really sunk in until the cars had pulled out of the city gates and were heading down the motorway towards Tokyo. The fact this girl was the crown princess did nothing to settle his frazzled thoughts.

While he had stated he was as yet undecided on a concrete reply, he knew his parents were desperately hoping for a positive one - though he didn't believe this was primarily dictated on the political gain such a union would bring, his parents were not political hounds like Banji.

He also knew the effect a negative reply would have on the governing of Kantou as a whole. Banji was a man still very much in the past and traditional ruling methods, and his family adopted the same view.

The progress into 21st century thinking made by the Echizen family would be instantly undermined.

In spite of all the logical reasons as to why he should accept this sort of arrangement, he still had his reservations. He had imagined an arranged marriage at some point, but he had presumed it would have been a slightly more gradual process.

The politics behind this proposal - however - made haste a necessity (it was only four days since the need for Ryoma's marriage became apparent, and they were already heading to Tokyo) , and frankly he was unsure as to how well he could really get to know this girl in the two weeks that had been proposed.

The driver returned to his seat and the engine once again revved into action, before slowly moving back onto the road to Kantou's capital. Still drowsy from the early wake-up call, Bunta joined his narcoleptic brother in slumber

* * *

"Ryoga-Ouji-Sama! Ryoma-Oujo-Sama is missing!" one of the distraught servants, a teen boy named Horio wailed, running up to his employer.  
"Have you tried the kitchens?" Ryoga asked.

He knew that Ryoma would be more nervous than she truly showed, and the antics of the two top chefs greatly comforted and calmed her worries with their antics. He would be surprised if she hadn't dragged her self out of bed earlier than necessary today.

"I just came from there! Kawamura-Sempai said she left a few hours ago! Mauri-Sama's driver called ahead a few minuets to tell Inui-Sempai they had just entered the Setagaya district and no-one knows where she is!" the boy squawked at an amazingly rapid rate.

Ryoga fought down the twitch in his eyebrow, bringing his own panic and frustration back under control. Apparently, Ryoma's inner turmoil was worse than he had originally perceived if she had the gall to disappear at this point.

Luckily, he also knew his twin's mind like the back of his hand. He had a sneaking suspicion as to where she had wandered off to. After all, he only had to place himself in her shoes to know where her location was most likely to be.

After assuring Horio he would keep a look out for the girl and telling him to make sure the guest bedrooms were properly organised, he set off for the once part of the castle that no one would even dare to think of looking.

* * *

"You do know that half the servants are looking for you don't you?" her brother's voice asked from the doorway.

She was seated on her father's desk, facing the comfy spindle chair he had one spun around the office in, wreaking his usual havoc.

When she was little and worried, or scared, or simply feeling down in the dumps, he would seat her on the desk - regardless of paperwork - and play Jan-ken-Pon until she forgot what had been troubling her in the first place. As she got older, the intervals between the games grew longer, until there was no need for the game at all.

She remembered most of the reasons she had sought her fathers comfort when she was younger (because she had fallen over, or Ryoga had been teasing her), but never in her life had she wanted to play the stupid hand-game as much as she did now.

Playing Jan-Ken was impossible though; her fathers chair had been vacant for five years. The maids didn't even come in to dust this room anymore; those had been, surprisingly, Sakuno's orders.

The reality of what she was being ultimately forced into had finally struck home, and she was not comfortable with it at all. Ryoma had accepted the position as the heir when Ryoga had been deemed unfit, but that was different somehow.

She had always known she would have a political marriage in one form or another - that was simply the way it was for her - but she had also been sure she would have been given room to decline the proposal, or at least be properly acquainted with the guy before talking business.

In less than two hours, she would be meeting someone she had only seen through a projector, and only knew what Inui and Tezuka had dug up on their background checks. If she were frank, she would admit that she did not want to get married, but admitting that would mean loosing to Banji.

Loosing to Banji would mean letting all her father's efforts to make the country into a prosperous one completely go to waste and she would not let that happen. Not only would it be bad for Kantou itself, but it would also be an insult to the Echizen name.

Some of the less appealing Echizen traits were stubbornness and pride, and Ryoma had inherited those traits tenfold compared to her brother and sister. Even her father was amazed at how stubborn she could be; her resolve to go through with this was no exception to that stubbornness.

Underneath the stubborn poker face however, she was finding it incredibly difficult to even change out of her pyjamas.

"Horio is going to have a fit if you don't come on out. The driver called; the Marui's have just entered Setagaya" her brother prompted.

Ryoma found it harder to ignore him with this news; Setagaya was only two districts away from the Palace. It would be and an hour and a half maximum before the party arrived on the imperial grounds.

Clenching her fists in determination, she hopped down off the desk, and moved past her brother - who had not once moved from the doorway. He knew better than to interrupt her internal turmoil; Ryoma's insufferable pride would allow no less than for her to come to a resolution by herself.

"Do you know where Sakuno is?" Ryoma asked, pausing in the hallway.  
"She was in her room last time I saw her, why?" he asked in reply.  
"I promised I'd let her fuss over my hair for once" the younger twin informed him, heading off in the direction of her sister's rooms.

Ryoga watched her retreating back critically for a few moments, before then heading in the other direction - poor Horio would have a conniption fit if he did not let the boy know his sister had been found.

* * *

"Marui-Sama, please wake up. We will be entering the imperial grounds shortly" the drive spoke through the intercom to his sleepy passenger.

Bunta groaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Jirou must be exuding sleep pheromones of some kind if he had slept all the way the palace grounds themselves. In spite of his sleepiness, he couldn't help but be awed by the gardens they were now passing through.

Coming from a high-class family, he had seen some impressive houses and gardens, but the sheer of the imperial gardens was enough to boggle the mind, never mind the flora and fauna (were those red-crowned cranes hopping over the grass?).

"Uh… Nii-San, where's Kintaro?"

Bunta turned to his brother as he pulled his usual wake-up bubblegum from his pocket.

"Pardon?" he asked, having not heard him clearly due to the attention on his gum.  
"Where's Kin-Chan?" his equally sleepy brother asked again, yawning briefly.

Bunta glanced around the spacious backseat of the car warily; indeed, there was no sign of his youngest sibling. That probably wasn't a good thing.

"He must be travelling with Otou-San and Okaa-San," he told himself and his brother without much confidence. The youngest of the three had undoubtedly gotten himself into some sort of trouble at the worst possible time.

The cars pulled to a halt on the gravel driveway in front out the palace, and Bunta felt his stomach drop at the sheer size and presence the building commanded. Any sense of awe the grounds had given him was immediately forgotten upon sight of the building. Was he really going to be spending two weeks here?

Bunta was not one with a bad sense of direction, but he could easily imagine getting lost in the myriad of passages and rooms he was sure the building contained. The chauffer opened the door as three people in official looking black suits emerged from the palace doorway.

One with spiky black hair and another with sandy-brown locks, and both wore glasses. He recognised the brown haired one as the chief of security, and the other glasses-wearer as the current ruler's personal assistant.

"Okaa-San, is Kintaro with you?" He asked, noting Kintaro's absence as his parents as the stepped out of their own car.

His mother looked at him in surprise.

"No, why would he be with us?" she asked.  
"Oh… Well, I guess that means we lost him," Jirou noted with lacking anxiousness.

Bunta was trying to come up with some sort of idea as to how they had managed to loose a person. This was not something he had ever accomplished before...

"What do you mean you lost him?!" his mother demanded in a hushed tone, noting the two men in the suits heading in their direction.

'_This is a disaster!' _Bunta groaned to himself.

He had finally remembered leaving the petrol station, particularly Kintaro's hurried exit from the car and non-existent return. The little idiot must have taken a case of wanderlust again!

He had no more time to ponder this other than inform his father, as the men in the suits had finally approached the new arrivals.

"Welcome to the imperial grounds Marui-Sama; my name is Kunimitsu Tezuka, head of security. This is Sadaharu Inui, he serves as Sumire-Sama's personal assistant" he introduced the other glasses-wearer, who bowed politely before scribbling something in a green notebook he produced from a pocket.

"I apologise on the behalf of Sumire-Sama; she will be unable to greet you until later this evening due to affairs of the state. She hopes you will not be offended by her absence"

"Not at all, I understand that she had a time-consuming job. It's a pleasure to meet you, Tezuka-San" his father replied, returning bow with a nod of his head.

"This is my wife Michiko, and err… Two of my sons, Bunta and Jirou" he said, pointing out the respective personages, before taking the time to look embarrassed

"I'm afraid my youngest seems to have succumbed to wanderlust…"

Worried looks crossed the faces of the welcoming committee.

"Oh don't worry about Kin-Chan! He does this all the time; even on his own birthday! I'm sure he'll turn up at the gates during the next few days!" Michiko informed the three with a cheery smile.

Tezuka looked a bit taken by surprise before muttering into his earpiece to have the security by the gate be on the lookout for the youngster. He then turned back to the four family members who had managed to turn up as planned.

"Sumire-Sama has given instruction to ensure you are settled in before dinner. If you will accompany us, you will be shown to your rooms," the man with the notebook, Inui, instructed with a gesture to follow him.

* * *

"Onee-Sama, look! Inui-San is bringing them in now!" Sakuno called, gesturing out of her sister's window enthusiastically.

Ryoma stood from her seat on the sofa, still drying her hair with a towel, and joined her sister at the widow. Looking down to the driveway below she could see two redheads, and two blonde figures walking up the steps to the entrance.

"Which one is…?"

Sakuno left the question hanging as she angled herself for a better view through the glass pane.

"I can't tell from this distance. Come on, you wanted to do something with this bird's nest didn't you?" Ryoma gestured to her damp, tangled hair poking out from underneath the towel on her head.

Sakuno nodded and moved away from the window after one quick glance.

"Have you seen Karupin?" Ryoma asked.

She had not seen the Himalayan cat fro several hours - an unusual occurrence. Karupin was usually very well in-tuned with his oldest mistress's moods, and tended to stick around whenever she was in a less than normal mood. For him to have disappeared when Ryoma was so obviously out of sorts was strange.

"I only remember seeing him at breakfast, but then I lost track of him. He'll turn up" Sakuno replied absently, brandishing a hairbrush with a manic expression.

Ryoma soon forgot her cat in favour of other worries; Sakuno's girly streak for one.

* * *

Michiko Marui, formerly Michiko Yukimura, watched her two eldest sons with a degree of surprise.

It appeared as though their roles had, for one miraculous moment, been reversed. Bunta was shifting his uncharacteristically where he stood, and was doing his best to become completely absorbed in his younger brother's ramblings.

If that were not indication of his nervous state, the imperfect bubbles of gum that he had been continuously blowing for the past five minuets were more than enough evidence. She counted this to be a good thing; his nerves indicated that he was taking the matter seriously.

While she would never force her son into an arranged marriage (just because hers worked out didn't mean those of others would), she did hope he take the opportunity he had been presented with. Not for political gain (though there was no denying that would be a significant boon) but for his own good.

Bunta was far too apathetic when it came to women, and her wish for grandchildren aside, she wanted him to find someone that would at the very least make his life more interesting. Where Kintaro and Jirou were too excitable and apathetic respectively, so Bunta found it difficult to remain interested in something or someone for long periods of time.

It was a good thing to see him nervous in her opinion.

He almost jumped out of his skin when the two black-haired youngsters appeared to take show them to the room they were to be meeting the imperial family in, bubblegum falling from his mouth when he yelped in fright. Michiko allowed a small grin to grace her features.

Oh yes, this match would prove to be a very good thing for her son.

* * *

"I'm not wearing that thing Sakuno. Forget it! You know perfectly well I can't walk for spaz in Kimono!" Ryoma protested angrily, glaring at the beautiful fabric of the garment.

While Ryoma appreciated the beauty of traditional dress, she could not help but despise the things.

Pushing past her apparently heartbroken sister, she headed for her wardrobe. This was just like any other formal meeting; there was bound to be something appropriate in her monstrous wardrobe (though if she'd had her way, it would have been a normal one).

After throwing three skirt-suits, seven trouser-suits, and ten dresses onto her bed into a rejected pile her eyes finally landed on the one dress she had been reluctant to wear since her fathers passing. Every time a formal event came up, it stuck out the most amongst her other clothing choices, and every time she had looked it over.

Those events had never seemed important enough for her to drag it out of the cellophane wrapper that still covered it. She knew she was being a coward but she had always ignored tat screaming part of her mind, and moved on to the next article of clothing.

However, this time it was fitting. She was taking on something that scared the wits out of her (whether she showed it or not), and she had been terrified of even touching the last thing her father had given her before he died for the past five years.

For once, the dress was perfect.

Before she could change her mind, she ripped of the cellophane and pulled the dress off it's hanger before pulling it over her head.

Its some what billowy, thin sleeves were caught with a thin ribbon cuff juts below the wrist, and it hung with an empire line of the same ribbon to just below mid-thigh, and hung just below the shoulders with the same ribbon-edging again.

The material itself was a wispy dull silvery-grey and almost pearlescent blue in certain lights, and wafted with a certain degree of agitation from the wearer. The dress was simple by itself, but with the right wearer, it was something to take notice of.

Ryoma imagined that was exactly why her father had picked it out for her - she loved simple - but the thought behind had not quite turned out the way he had intended. It was now something ingrained into complex feelings of grief - something decidedly not simple.

And the prospect of possibly binding herself in holy matrimony wrought another set of emotions as equally complicated as those dredged up by the overpriced dress.

It really was perfect.

A quick glance in the mirror and she noted that Sakuno's handiwork had been somewhat mussed, but seemed to work in her favour. Slipping on a pair of dull silver pumps and she figured she was ready.

Sakuno gave her a wide-eyed stare when she stepped back into her actual bedroom, but made no comment on her choice of clothing but an approving nod. She even caused more damage to her hour of work.

"You're sure you want to go through with this?" she asked, biting her lip in clear worry.  
"Lets get this show on the road" Ryoma replied with dead enthusiasm.

* * *

"Where on earth is that girl?!" Sumire hissed to her cowering assistant.

She and Sakuno were supposed to be in the lounge to meet the arrivals with the rest of the family but they had not seen neither hide nor hair of her since her younger sister had rushed off with her.

"Kachiro and Katsuo are searching for her as we speak" Inui informed her, attempting to calm the irate ruler.  
"Why can't you just ask Momo?!" the woman complained in a whisper.  
"We… Err… We can't get in contact with him," Inui informed her with a high degree of sheepishness.

Just as Sumire seemed to be on the verge of blowing up at volcanic levels the doors to the lounge opened. The younger of the two redheads snapped his attention to the door almost instantly; a slightly terrified look could be seen on his face if one looked closely.

Sakuno walked over to the group that had gathered on the lush sofas and gave a quick apologetic bow, introducing herself to the guests.

"I apologize for the wait. I'm Sakuno Echizen. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance" she spoke quietly but confidently. She held her hand out to the Mauri patriarch, before moving onto the other family members.

She gave Bunta an inquisitive but friendly smile before turning to take her seat next to her grandmother, having the decency to look sheepish at her late arrival.

"You're late Sakuno!" her grandmother hissed behind her smiling teeth as Ryoga made conversation with the Maruis.  
"Okaa-Sama always said _'a member of the imperial family is never late; everyone else is just early'_" Sakuno countered, quoting her mothers favourite saying.

Her grandmother could do nothing but frown, considering it had been she who had taught the saying to her daughter-in-law in the first place.

"Where's Ryoma?" her grandmother asked.

Sakuno bit her lip.

"Onee-Sama is… getting ready, I guess you could say…" she replied vaguely.  
"She's not dressed yet? It's two in the afternoon!"  
"I didn't mean her clothes Obaa-Sama…" the youngest crown princess corrected.

Her meaning finally fell on her grandmothers ears and she gave a resigned sigh.

"Momo is with her I take it?"

"Yes, but she made him turn his transceiver off…" Sakuno continued to bite her lip.  
She like her grandmother, though this to be an unwise decision.

"How long is she going to be?" the old woman asked.

Sakuno bit her lip once again and Sumire Echizen suppress the urge to pull on her hair.

"Excuse me, but is there a bathroom close by?" the youngest redhead, set to meet her eldest granddaughter, asked politely. He managed fairly well considering the polite glare he was being surreptitiously being sent by Ryoga.

"It's just across the Hall Bunta-San; ah you don't mind me using your given name do you? Marui-San was beginning to get a little confusing, but…" Sakuno somehow managed to work herself up into a dither, and her grandmother was once again reminded why Sakuno was not suited to the position of future ruler.

"It's fine Sakuno-Ojou-sama, and thank you for the direction" he replied before following her garbled directions.

There was silence for a few moments before Michiko grinned to the old woman in a friendly manner.

"He has a weak bladder when he's nervous," she informed her with a grin.  
Her two remaining family members pointedly looked away.

Sakuno blushed as her grandmother raised an eyebrow.

"Really? I remember Rinko having the same problem with Ryoga…" she replied with a similar smile.  
"O-Obaa-sama!" Ryoga spluttered turning a crimson colour.

* * *

Looking across the hallway Bunta spotted a single doorway and supposed this to be the bathroom Sakuno had spoken of. There was a man with spiky hair in a black suit snoring into the wall beside the doorway.

This raised an eyebrow, but brought no other reaction from the redhead and he proceeded to open and step through the doorway.

_'This is a bathroom?!'_ he protested mentally. The room was huge! All it had was a couple of plush chairs and sinks, there wasn't any sign of a toilet anywhere. This was very surreal… After passing through another door he finally found the toilet itself - and for some reason more chairs.

Once the business with the toilet room was over, he made his way back through the doorway to the sink room. He was in the process of scrubbing his hands with soap when he finally noticed the grey ball seated on the peach carpet instead of the chairs.

Judging by the dress he assumed that it was a girl, though he could not be sure as her face was hidden in the fabric covering her knees. The ball-person appeared to be shaking, though no noise was emerging from the said person.

Marui first felt very stupid for not noticing the girl in the first place. He then felt very embarrassed, as he realised he had inadvertently walked into a bathroom most likely for female use. He then felt very awkward, unsure of the appropriate actions to be taken.

Usually, he would have high-tailed it out of the room as quickly and unobtrusively as possible, but politeness would dictate that he at least try to comfort the girl somehow. She did not seem to be crying, but she was obviously shaken.

Deciding he should at least try to comfort her, he crouched down in front of her.

"Um, are you alright?" he asked hesitantly.  
"Just gimmie a few more minuets Momo" a decidedly female voice replied faintly.

Well at least he had her gender right, though that significantly raised the discomfort of accidentally using a girl's bathroom. He assumed he was being taken for the man sleeping outside, and decided it would be best to leave - he did not want misconceptions when she decided to look up from her knees.

He grunted in reply and left the room. Part of him wondered if he should have done more to help but he had already spent longer in the bathroom than he had originally planed, and did not want to cause worries or odd thoughts amongst those waiting for his return.

He almost passed the man sleeping on the wall- who appeared to be the intern working for Tezuka on closer inspection - but paused to give him a gentle shake. He seemed to be an okay guy, and he didn't want him to get in trouble for sleeping on the job

After the man had jolted awake, and thanked him for waking him - rather profusely he might add- he returned to the lounge to find Ryoga a vivid shade of red, his sister only less so, and his father and brother wishing they could be somewhere else.

One glance two the two women chattering away as though they had known each other for years was all he needed to know he probably didn't want to know what had been discussed in his absence.

* * *

"Momoshiro for god's sake, can you hear me?!" Tezuka hissed monotonously into the small wire communication device. He resigned himself to static once again.

"_Tez… Tezuka-Sempai? Is that you?"_ a metallic but familiar voice replied.  
"Momo where the hell are you?!" Tezuka hissed into his mouthpiece.  
"_I'm waiting for Ryoma!"  
"Well cant you get her here faster? Sumire-Sama is on the verge of a stroke!" the senior security manager hissed with more emotion in his voice.  
"__You don't rush women when theyre in the bathroom Tezuka-sempai! You just don't do that!"_ the junior protested vehemently.

Tezuka massaged his temples.

"Ok, fine, how long do you think she's going to take?" he asked wearily.  
_"__How do I know?! You don't ask a lady how longs she gonna be in the bathroom Tezuka-sempai! You just don- Oh, wait, she just came out. ETA thirty seconds!"_

What?

"_Thirty seconds? Momo where are yo-"_

Tezuka's question was interrupted by the opening of the door.

* * *

Seven heads snapped towards the door as Ryoma entered the room closely followed by a sheepish looking Momoshiro. Sumire immediately rose from her seat and spoke to her granddaughter in a hushed voice.

"Are you alright? You can still pull out of this if you want to Ryoma…" she whispered, more concerned over her granddaughter's mental health than politics for the time being.

Ryoma shook her head stubbornly.

"No, I'm fine, I just had… I had a moment of weakness that is all. Everything just seemed to catch up when I came down the stairs and before I knew it I was in the bathroom…" Ryoma trailed of as if her words explained themselves wholly.

A staring contest erupted between the two women for several moments. Sumire pursed her lips but backed down from her granddaughter's stern gaze. She would be a better leader than her father had been if that stare was anything to go by.

Taking in a deep breath they both turned back to the personages who were still seated on the sofa.

Ryoga seemed to breathing a sigh of relief for reasons that had nothing to do with his twin's late arrival. Sakuno shone with relief similar to Ryoga's but also directed to her sister, whilst a blonde boy watched in curiosity as a bright red-haired man and a blonde woman looked on in interest.

"Michiko-San, Akihito-San, Jirou-san… Bunta-san" her grandmother named the strangers, catching their attention but also introducing them to her eldest granddaughter.

"Allow me to finally introduce my granddaughter, Ryoma Echizen".

Ryoma clasped her hands at her waist and made a slightly deeper bow than usual, intoning an apology for lateness.

"I'm sorry for the wait. It's a pleasure to meet you" she greeted rising her head to meet the face of the members of the Mauri family.

* * *

_**Okie-dokie. I've finally decided the other pairings, if I get around to writing any. They will be as follows: GoldenPair, DataPair, maybe MomoxKaidoh, and NOT AtoTezu (can someone tell me the acronym for those please?) and I don't know of any others at the moment.**_

_**Hope you liked it.**_  
_**Nat.**_  
_**xxx **_


	3. Chapter III: Mingling

**ARRANGEMENT IS THE BEST OPTION**

**CHAPTER III  
****~ MINGLING ~**

* * *

"_Allow me to finally introduce my granddaughter, Ryoma Echizen"._

_Ryoma clasped her hands at her waist and made a slightly deeper bow than usual, intoning an apology for lateness._

"_I'm sorry for the wait. It's a pleasure to meet you" she greeted rising her head to meet the face of the members of the Mauri family._

Ryoma finally settled her gaze one redhead she instantly recognised from the projector image. The picture must have been taken a while ago since he looked older than his still image had - though maybe that was the suit - but it was clearly the same person.

The man himself was a definite improvement over his picture, though his picture had not been bad at all. His hair simply seemed brighter, and the silvery tones in his eyes stood out more. She could thoroughly appreciate that - silver was her favourite colour.

As far as visual impressions went, he made a good one.

Bunta, for his part, was positively stunned. The quivering grey ball was Ryoma Echizen?

Well, that explained her late arrival, and the shaking - he had presumed the girl herself was more settled with the idea than he was, but apparently, he was mistaken with that view. What it did not explain was why she looked a lot better than she had in the picture his father had shown him.

The dress had not looked very amazing when she had been curled up in a ball on the floor of the bathroom, but standing was a completely different kettle of fish. It was a rather plain dress, and she wore very little in the way of decoration (a silver ring on her hand and a small clear diamond on thin-matching-metal chain was all), but it was enough to make him swallow his breath.

Visuals; pass.

"Oh, not at all! The pleasure is all ours! My lord, you look absolutely _stunning_! What designer is this? Was it a custom design…?"

Bunta watched as his mother greeted her with considerable enthusiasm.

She drifted off into mindless chatter, and all but dragged the crown princess over to meet his father. He was not too surprised about that - the same had happened with her siblings and grandmother, though he did notice a higher degree of intensity in their greetings.

He was so absorbed in the greetings themselves (Jirou near suffocated the girl with his greeting) he was taken by surprise when his mother ushered her towards him with even greater eagerness.

"…aaand _thiiis_ is our eldest, Bunta! Though I'm sure you already know…"

Startled, he flustered for a few seconds before bowing in greeting.  
"Nicetomeetyou!" he garbled, too fast to be heard with any normal human hearing.

Amazingly, the dark-haired girl managed to translate the gabble into an understandable language.

"Nice to meet you too" she replied, smiling a little.

She gave his face what seemed to be a very scrupulous gaze. She then held up a pack of his favourite bubblegum (where had she put that?) one he had trouble finding back home. He stared at the small package she was dangling in front of his nose and then at the girl in front of him.

"Um… what?" he asked, mind overwhelmed with confusion.  
"Inui says you like bubblegum," she stated, as if it explained everything; he felt like it should but he still felt severely uninformed. And - oddly - violated.

"…don't ask me _how_ he knows that, because I don't think you _want_ to know, _I_ don't really want to know, but you looked like you could use something to chew on, and dinner wont be served till later so..."

She dangled the bubblegum in front of his nose once again.  
"…want some?" she asked.

How did she know he was nervous? Was it that obvious? Apart from his earlier slip up, he had felt his poker face was perfect… He was impressed she had been given the foresight to bring some of the plasticky chews.

Looking at her face he could make out a slight pull at the corner of her mouth - she was biting her lip.

"Ladies first" he grinned, taking the pack, opening it and offering her first choice of the sugary rubber pellets inside.

* * *

"I don't like him" Ryoga grumbled as he watched his sister chatting away about the cranes loitering around them as they walked through the gardens.

He could see the growing interest in the redhead's expression as she explained the conservation projects set up by their father, and he did not like that. He had assumed this whole farce would be doomed from the start, given the obvious differences between the two parties, so he had not objected.

He could not believe he had forgotten Ryoma's love of a decent argument and her general desire for new knowledge; The Mauri guy provided that in _spades. _The thought that this may actually work out had not even brushed his mind, but that was the way things seemed to be going.

True, they had only been at this for a couple of hours, but Ryoga knew his twin. She was far too animated in her speech and gestures for it to be the simple desire to make this work out. Ryoma was not animated around people unless they were direct blood relatives.

She probably did not realise it yet, but Ryoga had only seen that kind of animation two times since their birth.

One was during their fourth year of life, when another boy at their school had cheered her up after scuffing her knee on the tarmac. Another was upon meeting Keigo Atobe - though he could safely say that was little more than infatuation.

In any case he knew what he was seeing, and he did not like it one bit.  
Sakuno gave a sigh of frustration.

"Surely it's a good thing if they at least get along with each other? Besides, we don't even know if they're going to go through with the marriage yet…" she said placatingly.

Ryoga seemed to calm with her words.

"You shouldn't make assumptions either without trying to talk to him first either. You haven't spoken one word to him and you're already making him the bad guy," she added, reprimanding instead.

Ryoga stared at his youngest sister aghast. Ahead of them, Ryoma was still busy explaining the conservation projects being conducted on the grounds.

"…Oyaji started it after his father died. Ojii-sama was a good leader as far as war was concerned but he pretty much sucked at everything else. Half the animals on the grounds are either extinct in the wild or close to it" she finished, not remembering anything else of importance on the matter.

"Your father must have been an interesting person," her companion noted, watching one of the cranes flutter off the path.

"Where did he find the time besides running a country as well as a war?" he asked.  
Ryoma paused to think.

"I don't know, but he did that and still managed to finish in time for dinner unless he was on a trip of some kind, or… fighting himself."

Bunta noticed the longing in her tone before she seemed to close up completely. He had only know Ryoma (she had insisted he refer to her by name and _'at least drop the -Sama'_) for a few hours, but he was already wanting to get to know her.

One moment she was open and friendly, the next she was serious and as easy to read as a blank book (especially when it concerned her father). It was frustrating, but satisfyingly challenging at the same time.

So far, he knew she preferred eastern cuisine over any other type of food (and despised western), was an avid tennis fan - she had been planning on going professional before her brothers injury, and had spent her the first few years of her life up till middle school in the west with her brother and grandmother.

This was all knowledge he knew to some degree - her position in society meant she was never far from the eye of a camera. - But he did gain greater detail.

Her favourite food was Chawanmushi, and she made a point of visiting at least one of the grand slam tournaments when the opportunity arose, and she was hoping to return to the west to get a degree in chemistry, or take an open learning course.

That being said he still felt like she was the complete stranger he had to keep reminding himself she was.

* * *

Bleary eyes opened and took in the surrounding area.

"Augh… I shouldn't have run from the petrol station!" Kintaro grumbled to himself as he sat up in the bed he was currently occupying.

Last thing he remembered was entering the Shinjuku district before passing out. This meant either a kind soul had taken him into their home, or relatively humane kidnappers had kidnapped him. A normal person would assume the former, but Kintaro's eccentric mind prompted him to go with the latter.

"HELP! SOMEONE HELP! IVE BEEN KIDNAPPED!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.

The noise brought a visitor through the door (which if he had cared to check, he would have realised to be unlocked), carrying a tray of food.

"Ah! You're awake! Oishi! The shortie's awake!" the older redhead yelled through the doorway.  
"Is he alright? Does his head hurt? What happened to him Eiji?"  
"I WANNA GO HOOOOME! HELP!"

* * *

"So? What do you think of him? First impressions I mean?" Takashi asked, serving up some grilled mackerel next to Ryoma's usual rice and Miso soup.

It was the third day since the Marui family had arrived, and the two chefs were as aware as Ryoma that both her own and Marui family were expecting a decision by the end of the week.

"He's nice. Funny" Ryoma stated, devouring her rice with unusual enthusiasm, noticed by the older man.  
"You're unusually enthusiastic this morning, any particular reason?" he asked, biting into a slice of bread.

"Obaa-sama organised a tour of the city for the Marui's, and we have to leave early…" Ryoma informed him, gulping down the can of grape ponta.

She moved back to her rice and Takashi was on the verge of asking another question when the door creaked open, revealing the redhead himself. He started on the sight of the shorthaired girl, but quickly recovered himself.

"Uh… I was wondering if I'd be able to get a cup of coffee before breakfast but-" he was not given a chance to finish as the head chef dragged him toward the seat next to Ryoma.

"Nonsense! You'll get a proper breakfast, you'll need your energy to day if Sumire-Sama has planned the day out!" he grinned jokingly, already plonking down three bowls (rice, Miso, and fish) and a set of chopsticks in front of him.

"Bunta-san, meet the head chef Kawamura-san, and his son Takashi-san" Ryoma introduced with a wave of her hand, fully engrossed in her meal.  
Takashi frowned at her lack of manners.

"I don't care about manners Takashi-san, it too early for all that pomp…" she grumbled, taking the words straight from his thoughts.

"I'm guessing you're not a morning person then…" Bunta noted digging into his own meal with some gusto. The two chefs snorted with laughter, ignored by the subject of said laughter.  
"None of the Echizens are what you would call morning people; they seem to avoid them in fact" Kawamura grinned.

Bunta absorbed this before looking at Ryoma in apparent confusion.

"Rather than explain something lengthy and convoluted, I'll say this is something of a weekly exception, though I've been coming down here quite a lot recently," Ryoma stated, not giving the redhead any opportunity to query her.

Bunta raised an eyebrow but chose to finish the last of his rice instead. If he had learned anything about the girl in the past three days, it was she was very stubborn. If she did not want to share her thoughts, no force on earth could persuade her to do so.

* * *

"Are you as bored as you look?" Ryoma asked under her breath, avoiding her grandmother's sharp ears as they trudged up the steps of Tokyo tower.

Bunta gave her a sheepish grin.  
"Is it that obvious?" he asked in an equally low tone.

"Not really, but from what I know of your personality I guessed this wasn't your idea of fun; it's not even _my _idea of fun…"she took on an exasperated expression underneath her cap as they continues up the steps.

They whole party was dressed down, and adorning various tourist-like hats to avoid notice from the other visitors and general public - a riot would most likely ensue should the presence of their royal family be revealed.

"That and Obaa-sama's idea of entertainment leaves a lot to be desired" Ryoma added in a disgruntled tone.

Bunta could not help but chuckle in agreement with her. It would have been fine if he had been seeing anything new, but having already been to Tokyo with his fellow submariners he was not seeing anything new like Jirou.

His parents were too engrossed in conversation with Sumire and Ryoma's siblings to notice anything they may have found interesting, so really he and the Ryoma were the only ones feeling bored. Bunta was certain that boredom was not the aim of the excursion at all.

A poke at his shoulder revealed a devious grin on the face of the crown princess.

"Want to do something really fun?" she grinned.

Behind her, her bodyguard whimpered.  
Ryoma was plotting something.

* * *

"Welcome to Shinjuku! The place to find anything and everything in Tokyo!" Ryoma announced with a little extra enthusiasm, though she hand gesture was kept to a few strict waves of her hand.

Momoshiro, who had once again been conned into turning his communication device off, was shifting his gaze uncomfortably from the music shop on the left to the top of the skyscrapers to the American deli on the right. His job was to protect his charge at all costs, and this environment was not conducive for that in the slightest.

Bunta, who had never actually been to Shinjuku itself was somewhat awed by the amount of life in the area. It had a lot more people and seemed more alive than the areas of Tokyo he had visited previously.

"This way, I think you're going to love this place…" she informed him taking his wrist and dragging him through the sprawling masses.

Amidst the abundance of people, it became necessary to take a firmer grasp on him to prevent being separated (poor Momo having a small panic attack) and her hand easily slipped into his own with a surprisingly strong grip.

Their first destination was a store specializing in bubblegum, and bubble-gum related merchandise. Bunta had believed she was exaggerating when she introduced the bustling area of the city, but he found himself mistaken as he dragged the still-attached girl behind him as he sped into the store.

It took nearly fifteen minuets for her to finally drag him back out - happily chewing on and laden down with bags of bubble gum.

He had also insisted on purchasing a bubblegum-related key ring for the girl - he couldn't really think of anything else to thank her with at the moment - before he was dragged off to their next destination.

Marui was puzzled as to why they had entered such a crumbling, run-down old bookshop until he watched Ryoma's interaction with the owner - someone named Renji Yanagi.

Apparently, he was a close childhood friend of Inui - though if Ryoma's intonations were anything to go by they were a bit closer than simple friends were - and was a collector of rare books and first editions.

"Bunking off?" he asked as soon as they entered the shop, to which Ryoma smirked.  
"Obaa-sama's idea of fun is kind-of boring, and I wanted to know if you'd-"

She never finished her sentence, for a brown-paper package was deposited with an obvious degree of relief from the shop owner into her hands.

Ryoma gave something of a triumphant growl-squeal crossbreed before depositing the package in her backpack, and handing over the payment of 90,000 (he reasoned it must have been one hell of a rare book to cost that much).

After paying, she mumbled something to the brown haired closed-eyed man and he disappeared to the back of his shop, presumably to the storeroom, before returning with another package of brown paper.

"Ryoma-san tells me you enjoy Japanese literature and she asked I pick something out for you. I think you'll appreciate the value of this particular work," the man informed him holding out the package.

Raising an eyebrow, he opened the paper pulling the book out of its wrappings to read the title, and then nearly dropped the book.

"G-Genji Monogatari?"

"It's not as good as the un-modernized version, but it is fairly true to the original text. I deduced a 89 percent chance that Ryoma-san would bring you here, and laid my hands on the earliest copy I could find" Renji stated in clarification

"H-How did you know I was looking for this?" he asked the smirking girl after the shock had worn off to a certain extent.  
"Inui said you liked Japanese literature - I mean you have a freaking degree - and I even I know that an original of that book is pretty hard to find" she shrugged.  
"Hard to find? I've been looking for one of these since I got that degree!" he protested her nonchalant view of the matter.

"Whatever, Renji can find pretty much any book you want so I asked him to find it; it's like Inui and his background checks, but less creepy and less likely to be borderline illegal…"

There was a short silence before Renji himself admitted to his 'friend's' somewhat unnerving tendencies.

Any protest Bunta held was drowned out by his itching desire for the book, so it wasn't until they had left the shop that he realised his male pride was taking something of a blow being directed like this.

He hadn't really taken any initiative of his own since the beginning of the 'date' - the whole scenario easily fell into the date category when he gave it serious thought.

"Is there anywhere you want to go?" he asked as the left yet another shop that seemed to grab his interest in some way.

Ryoma gave him a puzzled look, before frowning in concentration.

"Well I want to go visit a couple of friends of mine but…"  
"Which way?" he asked, not letting her decide it would be best to go another time.

Ryoma looked at him in surprise but pointed out the direction none the less. Momoshiro, who had been following them all day, would have been blind not to notice how their hands automatically and unconsciously slipped together.

* * *

"Obaa-sama! Onee-sama and Bunta-san aren't here!" Sakuno voiced suddenly.

Ryoga and Jirou instantly turned around to find the two who had been taking up the rear of the large party had indeed disappeared.

"Well finally… I was beginning to think we'd have to go round the botanical gardens before they took off!" the old woman grumbled, gaining a suspicious look from the younger members of the group.

"You planned this?" Jirou asked in shocked awe.  
"Of course we did honey! Did you think your brother would have even tried going on a date if we didn't leave him any other option?" his mother replied with cheer.

"Cough up Tezuka; you were twenty minuets out" Inui voiced to his fellow glasses wearer.

* * *

The pet shop they entered was the last place he would have though of, but it was Ryoma's choice so Bunta was not one to object. In fact, the shop was an attention-grabbing hive of squawks rattles and constant movement.

The walls were lined from ceiling to floor with food, animal vitamins, toys, collars, housing, as well as the animal cages themselves. From one corner of the room, canaries chirped and fluttered around an irate grey cockatiel inside their aviary, whilst another wall was lined with fish tanks.

Only one door behind the counter provided a relief from anything animal.

"Oishi-sempai! Kikumaru-sempai!" Ryoma called out loudly over the animal calls.

There was a barley audible sound of footsteps before a red-head appeared from the doorway behind the desk with some speed. As agile as a cat he jumped over the counter and smothered the girl who had called his name not moments before.

"Ochibiko! Its Ochibiko nya! Oishi! Its Ochibiko!" the red head yelled with loud cheerful enthusiasm.

Bunta was briefly reminded of his youngest sibling, and is some cases Jirou, by the man's bubbly personality and lack of regard for personal space. He seemed to be nice enough, albeit as over-enthusiastic as his brothers.

They would probably get along pretty well.

Horribly well.

As he pondered this, another man had appeared and saved the cat-eyed girl from the cat-like redhead, and appeared to be fussing over her, checking for broken bones (he wondered if the black-haired man suffered from some sort of complex) and such.

"I'm fine Oishi-sempai, I'm used to Kikumaru-sempai's hugs" Ryoma placated the man.  
"Are you sure?" the man frowned.

"Positive - can we go to the back? The cat lady is staring at me again" she motioned her head in the direction of an old woman at the back of the shop.  
"Oh, not again, just go into the back of the shop… Are you lost again Takaomi-san?"" he told her, moving past towards the old woman.

Bunta followed Ryoma and the Kikumaru guy to the back of the shop, where it was clear the two lived. There was a lived in look about the place that he found very appealing compared to the neat housing standards he had grown up with.

Kikumaru meanwhile was deep in conversation with Ryoma over various matters.

"How's Taka-san and the others?" he asked excitedly.  
"Taka-san is fine, and Momo is waiting outside the shop - you know how he is with cramped spaces, but he says hi."  
"What about Tezuka and Kaidoh? We hear bits from Inui and Renji but…"

"Kaidoh-sempai just got promoted to flight-lieutenant, you should have seen how chuffed Inui was, and Tezuka-sempai still has a stick shoved up his ass, but he seems to be improving lately. As for Fuji-sempai, I'm as clueless as ever"

Kikumaru nodded, seemingly pleased with the news, before giving the redhead taking the details of his home a curious glance. He knew Ryoma was looking into an arranged marriage because of Banji's politics but… already?

"Who's the apple-head Ochibiko? Is that him?" he asked quietly, not wanting to be overheard by the man but still wishing to confirm his suspicions.  
"Huh? Oh, yeah. That's him" Ryoma replied after several moments of blinking in confusion.

Kikumaru gave him another curious glance but said nothing. Ryoma sighed, knowing that her old school senior would be watching Bunta like a hawk until he had left the building. They entered the kitchen, and it was there that Ryoma chose to introduce the two.

She noticed that Bunta handled Kikumaru enthusiastic greeting with practiced ease, and assumed this was a direct result of living with his equally energetic brother. She was listening to the two discuss thir respective time on the submarines and volunteer work when a red ball seemingly appeared from nowhere.

"Kikumaaru-saaan! I cant find Beaky's foot medicine! Where is it? Is beaky gonna di-"  
"Kintaro, where the hell have you been?" Bunta yelled all of a sudden, stunning the two seated at him with the table.

The loud red-headed boy, seemingly known as Kintaro, stared at Bunta in stunned surprise.

"Nii-san? What are you doing here?" he asked, seemingly puzzled.

For the first time since meeting him, Ryoma watched Bunta loose his cool.

"Don't you give me that Kintaro! What possessed you to jump out at the petrol station like that?" he demanded, trapping the younger boys head with his arm and rubbing his fist into his messy hair.

Ryoma realized this must be the missing Marui Michiko had told her of, Bunta's youngest sibling. He looked like Bunta and their father, but like Jirou, had their mothers excitable qualities.

"Ow! Ow! I only went to the bathroom! The cars had gone and my phone was in the car so I had no choice but to run OW! OW! NII-SAN THAT HURTS! OW!"

"Maybe you should stop before his hair falls out Bunta; he seems to be telling the truth, so it wasn't his fault" Ryoma interjected, pulling the fist from the younger brother's head, allowing the boy to free himself.

"Thank you Nee-chan! Hey, Nii-san, who's this? Who's this?" he asked, giving a hug of similar feeling to those by Kikumaru to his saviour.  
"This is-"  
"My name is Ryoma Echizen Kintaro-san, its nice to finally meet you" Ryoma introduced herself after untangling the boy from her.

Kintaro stared at her for a few moments before his jaw dropped.

"Whaaaaaat? No way! No way! That's so COOL! You're so pretty in person! Nii-san, I think I'm a bit jealous of you… You get to marry such a hot girl…"

Bunta spluttered, Kikumaru snickered, and Ryoma turned a shade of red matching the two Maruis' hair.

* * *

They had left the pet shop and were walking through the streets of Shinjuku. Momoshiro had finally been allowed to turn his microphone back on, and had received an earful from Tezuka and Sumirie until he was rescued by Ryoma.

As the sky darkened, the bustling area of the city seemed to come to life; it was as if the earlier bustle had been the Ryoma's drowsy mode before she fully woke up. Momo looked even more panicked than he had earlier, and insisted they remain in physical contact as the walked to the area designated to meet their car.

"How do you know Kikumaru-san and Oishi-san, Nee-chan?" Kintaro asked.  
"We went to the same middle school and high school, you've heard of Seishun Academy right?"

Kintaro nodded, having calmed down enough to have a somewhat normal conversation.

"They must be from pretty high families right?"

Bunta caught Ryoma tense up for a few moments.

"They were, but that's not the case anymore"  
"Eh? Why? How come?"

"Kintaro, look at all this gum! We found this awesome shop that sold nothing but bubblegum stuff!" Bunta interjected, successfully distracting the sixteen-year-old.

Bunta had no great interest in politics and the mechanics of high-class society (despite being part of it himself), but he had eventually recognised the two from one of his fathers talks. He hadn't realised families could be so harsh as to throw out one of their own for their sexuality (nor his father), but he had caught sight of two living examples.

Not only would Kintaro kick up one hell of a fuss, but also it was obviously a sore subject for Ryoma. It was best Kintaro remain oblivious for now at least.

"Were you in the same school Momoshiro-san?" Bunta asked.

He had noticed that the bodyguard had a closer relationship with his charge than the norm. Not to mention it was not orders that made him turn off his microphone at Ryoma's request (something he probably should not even think of doing), but sheer terror.

"Yep! Inui-sempai, Tezuka-sempai, Taka-san were too. Then there's Fuji-sempai, and the viper, but they aren't here at the moment." he replied as they rounded one of the street corners.

He gave a sigh of unprecedented relief when he caught sight of the waiting car.

"Come on! We're going to be late for dinner at this rate!" he ushered them along.

"Not to mention Tezuka-sempai is going to give him hell," Ryoma mumbled under her breath with a chuckle.  
"Didn't you tell him to turn his mic off?" Bunta asked.  
"Yeah, of course I did, but that wont stop Tezuka-sempai" she snickered as she climbed into the black vehicle after his brother.

* * *

"Kin-chan!" Michiko squealed, running over to smother her youngest son as the _'missing' _group stepped into the main living area, followed by her husband.

As his mother - amidst his father's relieved reprimands - was suffocating Kintaro, Momo could be seen furtively bowing his apologies to Tezuka, who had a less than pleased expression on his face.

The remainder of the Echizen family, Jirou, and Inui were much more relaxed with their greetings, only asking where the trio had disappeared to, and where Kintaro had turned up.

"That tour was boring, so we ditched and went to Shinjuku. - Oh, Inui-sempai, Yanagi-sempai says he has a meeting with his collectors club, so he won't be back till late - we found Kintaro helping out Kikumaru-sempai and Oishi-sempai at their shop" Ryoma informed them bluntly.

"You saw Oishi and Kikumaru? How are they?" Inui asked.  
"Fine - Kikumaru-sempai is a mad as ever, and Oishi-sempai still frets over nothing"

Inui nodded, before scribbling a note to call on them himself.

"Well, now that yore back you should go get changed for dinner. Kawamura-san is making sushi I think-"  
"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Ryoma demanded, before speeding out of the room, quickly followed by her two siblings.

"Did I miss something?" Bunta asked the elder of his younger brothers in a low voice.  
"Dunno… probably. Whatever it is, I missed it too" he yawned.

"Isn't that because you just woke up?" Bunta asked in a withering voice.  
"No… Okaa-san wouldn't let me sleep. She kept pinching me…" Jirou rubbed the top of his arm soothingly.

It was until dinner itself that the two found out why the three Echizen siblings had been in such a rush to get ready for dinner - there was a mad rush to gather as much of the sushi to the plate before others could do the same thing.

Try as he might to remain well mannered, Bunta soon found himself in a heated dispute over and anago roll, not even noticing Jirou sneaking it onto his own plate. Even compared to the hectic dinners in his own home, it was a new experience for him.

* * *

"That was some of the best sushi I've ever had!" Kintaro exclaimed later that night, having invaded Bunta's room along with Jirou.  
"Seconded! No wonder they ran out of the room so fast…" Jirou agreed.

Bunta gave a grunt of acknowledgement but his eyes remained on the pages of his book. It was rare enough to find a first edition that was accurate to the original story, but one in readable condition was even less likely.

He wondered if Yanagi-san had been above belt as Ryoma had thought when looking for this; he knew from experience how difficult a decent copy was to find, but the man had done just that in under a week…

"…ta …unta …BUNTA!"

"What?" the elder redhead growled to the younger.  
"I asked what you and Nee-chan did today!"

Bunta sighed, gloomily closing the book he had been intent on reading since it had been placed in his hands by the shop owner. There was no point in even trying to read it when Kintaro was in a particularly badgering mood - he often wondered if his brother really was sixteen.

Kintaro grinned in triumph when he received a grunt of surrender from his oldest sibling.

* * *

"We just went around a few shops Sakuno, and one of them was a pet shop. I hardly think that counts as a date…" Ryoma protested.

"Did he buy you anything?" Sakuno continued to hound her older sister for information on her afternoon.  
"We both did - I got him that book remember?" Ryoma countered, tugging on a particularly dense knot in her sister's hair with the hairbrush she was holding.

Sakuno winced, but did not cease her assault.

"Well, what did he buy you?" she insisted.  
"A key ring, lemon Kakigori, and a new manga magazine… oh, and for the food at that café-"  
"See! He paid for the food! That counts as a date!" Sakuno proclaimed gleefully.

Ryoma decided to just ignore her sister; Sakuno had a very romanticised idea of a date. As long as the guy paid, then in her opinion it counted. Ryoma was a bit more exacting, and today's outing did not count as a date in her opinion.

Though that wasn't to say she wouldn't mind doing the same thing again.

In fact, she sort of… wanted to.

**_

* * *

*Handy Currency Conversion!  
_****_ 90,000 ¥ -__ £600 -__ 1,200$_**

**_If my description of Shinjuku is crappy, then I'll defend myself by saying I haven't set one foot inside Japan - the furthest I've been is Europe. I'm desperately relying on tourist information, wikipedia, and what I've seen on TV documentaries, holiday programmes and in anime, if its wrong, I have no qualms over being corrected - I'd be really grateful actually._**

**_Genji Monogatari (The Tale Of Genji) is a really old Japanese book. I think its something like Shakespeare in the UK, but that's only based on what I found on wikipedia. Feel free to recommend something else if its wrong, and I'll change it. _**

**_Oh, and 'Ojou-Sama' doesn't mean princess, it means… I think something like young mistress, but I think it sounds better than 'Hime-sama' and I don't want to change all of it now that this is three-fifths complete. Not yet. I'll get it finished first._**


End file.
